This picture was taken about 70 years ago and shows a typical haying
operation on the Johnathan Haas ranch, now the Jay Langston place, on
Alder Slope. Bill Hays drove the derrick team, ran a rake and
carried water for the crew which consisted of three pitchers in the field,
three men on hayracks, two men in the hay mow and a derrick driver among
others. More than a dozen workers are shown here.
Hays recalls that he worked from 6 am to 6 pm, or
longer for 50 cents per day. The men got from a dollar to a dollar
and a quarter a day. Hay sold for from $8 to $10 a ton.
Running four wagons and with a full crew this outfit
could put up about 35 to 40 tons of hay per day with horse drawn mowers,
dump rakes, pitchforks, ray racks and a Jackson fork.